My prior U.S. application Ser. No. 884,901, filed Mar. 9, 1978, the claims of which are allowable and Official Notice of Allowance is expected, is directed to a paper towel dispenser particularly adapted for nylon reinforced paper toweling in which the toweling is drawn from a roll through a pressure nip operated by withdrawal force on the toweling and returned to the cabinet through another pressure nip driven from the means establishing the first pressure nip, to be compacted in the bottom of the cabinet for removal. Such dispensers have been found to be very satisfactory for nylon reinforced rolls of toweling, but when rolls of commercial paper toweling, supplied to the public in stores is used, the paper cannot stand the pulling thereon and frequently tears. Moreover, nylon toweling is considerably more expensive than roll toweling used for household purposes and is not readily available in the average store.
The paper towel dispenser of the present invention differs from that of my prior application in that it is particularly adapted for rolls of paper toweling of commercial weight, which may be of various commercial grades and widths, but which will readily fit within the cabinet and is an improvement upon previous towel dispensers in its simplicity and low cost and the fact that the spent, damp paper toweling is rolled on a spindle by power independently of the unrolling of the paper toweling, and a minimum strain is placed on the toweling as drawn from the cabinet for use. It further improves upon the towel dispensers known in that the dirty toweling is drawn into the spent towel compartment of the cabinet under the control of a limit switch, energizing a motor to wind in the spent toweling in a predetermined time delay interval after closing of the switch, sufficient to permit drying of the hands or face or both with no attention from the user to the toweling. The clean toweling merely rests on an inclined plate in a back wall of the cabinet and is sensed by a sensing switch sufficiently sensitive to close by the weight of the paper on the inclined plate, as the toweling is pulled from the cabinet and is returned to the cabinet through a slot under the control of a limit or time delay switch energized by the tension of the toweling as the toweling is drawn from the cabinet for use and energizing a winding motor in a predetermined time interval to wind up the spent toweling and draw the clean toweling taut across the front of the cabinet.
A principal advantage of the present invention is that commercial roll toweling may be unrolled from a cabinet for use and the used toweling may be rolled into a separate spent towel compartment in the cabinet for disposal when the roll of toweling is used up.
A further advantage in the invention is in the simplicity and positiveness in action of the roll towel dispenser of the present invention adapted for various commercial grades of roll paper toweling and accommodating use of the toweling and returning of the toweling to a spent towel compartment of the cabinet with a minimum amount of strain on the toweling.
A further advantage in the invention is in the positiveness in action of the roll toweling dispenser of the present invention in which the spent toweling is wound in the form of the roll in the bottom of the dispensing cabinet as used, and the power for returning the towel to the cabinet is of a simplified form requiring no attention other than drawing of the toweling from the cabinet for use.
A further advantage of the invention is in the efficiency in operation of the paper towel dispenser of the present invention, in which the toweling is available for use for a predetermined time interval after drawing from the cabinet and is returned to the cabinet into a compartment separated from the roll of clean toweling and rolled in the form of a roll at the termination of this time interval.
Other objects, features and advantages of the invention will be readily apparent from the following description of a preferred embodiment thereof, taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings, although variations and modifications may be effected without departing from the spirit and scope of the novel concepts of the disclosure.